Cover Me
by southsidesister
Summary: Just a little filler for 9x06 and what I think happened in Harvey's office and how Donna dealt with his tears. Angsty, as always.


_A/N: I just couldn't let this scene go, being the angst-whore that I am. So, I had to write this. :)_

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"It's not the man I want you to be. And I know it's not the man you want to be." Her voice trembled, because her heart ached for him. Donna let the words hang between them, knowing exactly how her directness would affect the powerhouse of a man sitting beside her. Sometimes she just needed to be painfully honest with him, to make him see how his emotions were clouding his judgment. She'd done it a thousand times before, but things were different now. _They_ were different.

Harvey swallowed hard as his vision got blurrier with every passing second, his gaze fixed at the door, fighting a losing battle against the tears. They were all in this mess because of him and he hated himself for it. However, he knew Donna was right, which just made it worse.

Her left side was burning. The grief emanating from his body filled the air with discomfort. Donna had never before physically consoled him in his sorrow. Even now, taking a seat next to him, she'd left several inches of space between them. Out of habit. His tears had always been his own and he had never let her in. The distance between them always too delicate to breach. But she was his woman now, his lover. His love. And he was hers.

Something had to change.

Donna pushed herself up slowly and moved in front of him. Taking a small step forward, she moved in between his legs. The ache in her heart only grew, the hurt she witnessed breaking her heart, yet she hesitated a moment as she looked down at him.

Harvey didn't look up at her, but instead kept his gaze on the door. _It's not the man I want you to be._ Her words echoed through his mind like thunder rolling through the clouds. Could he even be the man she wanted him to be? He certainly wasn't convinced, feeling a familiar panic rise to the surface. She was worth so much more than he could give her.

Trying to get him to look at her by taking his face in hers, Donna watched Harvey close his eyes, unable to meet her all-knowing stare. It was clear he was still not able to breach their divide. But she was.

His lower lip trembled as a single tear made its way down his cheek, over her thumb. He had never allowed her comfort before, always solitary in his suffering. Even when she had just told him his dad had passed away, no soothing touch was shared between them. Donna had been right by his side and still a million miles away. And he'd kept her there. But he wanted her to soothe his pain now, would give anything for her to alleviate the tightness he felt in his chest.

Her voice was soft and low when she spoke. "Hey. You made a mistake. That's okay. We all do sometimes. But you can fix it." She ran a hand through his hair.

He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing out a few more tears. Her sympathy was simply unbearable.

Donna wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close to her as possible. With their current difference in height, she let his head come to rest against her chest, massaging his scalp gently, letting him know she wasn't going anywhere.

Harvey traced her waist with his hands, feeling the soft silk of her dress under his fingertips until he wrapped both his arms around her. Perfume tickled his nose while he let himself get lost in her embrace.

For the longest time, they just stood there, holding each other.

When Donna finally felt his breathing even out, she asked, "You want to know what else I love about you?" She pulled back a little and cocked her head to the side, scanning his face for evidence her comforting touch had had its intended effect.

He met her eyes with a hopeful glint in his, letting his palms rest on her hips.

"I love how you'll protect the ones you love." She traced a finger over his forehead, barely touching the surface. "I love how you are not afraid to face your fears." Her finger moved down his cheek and traced his jawline, the surface getting rougher with a hint of a stubble piercing through his skin. "I love how you make me smile." She smiled gently, seeing his face relax more with every word. "I love how you pretend to be asleep when I wake up, even though you've been watching me sleep for god knows how long."

"How do you know that?" He sounded surprised, letting the edges of his mouth curl up.

"Well, I am Donna after all," she teased.

"You sure are." He gave her hips a squeeze.

"But what I love most about you, Harvey… is that you love _me_." Her tone changed from teasing to sincere as she clutched his lapels.

Harvey got to his feet.

"That I do." He reached down to let his lips meet hers in a gentle kiss.

"Apologize to her. I am sure she'll forgive you."

"I will."

He let out a deep sigh, releasing the final bits of emotion trapped in his body. What would he ever do without her? He wrapped his arms around the paramount person in his life, engulfing her in _his_ embrace this time.

"Have I ever told you how amazing you are?" He breathed the words against the skin just below her ear.

"Maybe once or twice." She pulled back. "But I never get tired of hearing it."

He let his lips cover her mouth again, leaning into her, adding weight to the gesture.

"Thanks, Donna. I'll give Samantha a call right now."

"Good. Meet me at my place later?" She smiled up at him, brushing her nose against his, happy to see the change in his demeanor.

"I'll bring food." He pursed his lips, touching hers with no effort at all, before Donna stepped out of his embrace and walked out of his office with her signature gait.

Harvey watched her for as long as he could, feeling like the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet.

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_A/N: I tried and failed to keep this under a thousand words. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think. x_


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